How to Clean Your Musical Instruments the Right Way

Clean instruments are pleasing to look at and can produce better sounds than nasty ones. The truth is the process of cleaning isn’t complicated at all. Here are the simplest and most effective ways to clean your musical instruments:

Microphones

Disassemble the mic by removing its grill and foam filter.

Soak the latter in a cup with mouthwash and set them aside.

Clean the metal filter with an old toothbrush and running hot water.

In another cup with mouthwash, soak your metal filter for half a minute then dry it using a paper towel. Meanwhile, get the foam filter and let it dry in a warm area.

Reassemble your microphone.

Guitars

Take out the strings.

Using a soft and damp cloth, clean the fretboard thoroughly. Don’t use the same portions of the fabric. Only use extra fine steel wool if a lot of grime has already accumulated. (This step should be done once or twice a year only).

Use a polish. Spray your selected polish (not furniture polish) onto a cloth and clean the guitar from top to bottom, front to back.

Clean your tuning keys with a dry cloth and polish them.

Use a damp cloth or an old toothbrush to clean the bridge.

Polish your pickups.

Put back the strings.

Clean the strings using dry or damp cloth. You can also spray some lubricant (with no petroleum base) on a cloth and use it to clean rusty strings.

Electronic Piano Keyboard

Use a damp cloth to wipe each key, including its sides gently.

Dry them immediately to avoid water from falling in between keys.

Use an old toothbrush or a Q-tip to get rid of the dust and dirt in corners and hard-to-reach areas.

Drum Set

Disassemble each drum.

Use a damp cloth to clean the tension rods and stands.

Clean the drum heads and the drum hoops using a mild pressure washer. Grab one from pressurewasherplanet.

Dry them off entirely using cloth or paper towel.

Carefully polish the cymbals if needed. Follow the recommendation of the manufacturer.

Assemble the parts of each drum.

Tune the drum sets.

When cleaning the cymbals, use a damp cloth. If necessary, use something acidic like Groove Juice or vinegar, and leave it for 30 seconds before wiping it off. That will give you one shiny cymbal to use. Never polish your cymbals before cleaning them. Get rid of the oil, dust, and dirt with a damp cloth first.

BONUS!

You can also use a mild pressure washer to clean the bags of your musical instruments—they remove the dirt quickly, giving you a dust-free bag! Oh, the wonder of using a pressure washer properly!